The Fabulous Four Patch

When you see what creative minds have already done for us, you’ll think Fabulous Four Patch as well! I had so much fun looking up the different possibilities to share with you, and also have ready-to-find place in the future that’s packed full of ideas!

Of course, I went over to Pinterest and searched “four patch”… wow! I’ll just share a few of my favorites and let you explore further later!

I like the mixing of small four patches, with bigger ones (some call it “Double 4 patch) to make an over-all four patch block design.

This is a good picture from All People Quilt, to show what I mean...

Taking the four patch to the next level ~

Making it disappear… Sarah Did It shows you how she did it!

Oh, my! Check out this “twist” I found on the What comes next? blog! Another one on my to-do list! I’m really liking the diagonal business! This is just the beginning....

Or, mix bunches of four patch blocks with half square triangles and you have something lovely like a reader of Quiltville put together and shared:

The patches don’t have to be square…

Mix the little & big and they can be set on point…

You know me, I could go on and on, but will stop here!

I hope I've Inspired you to explore and Create!

Simple to Spectacular - the Nine Patch Block

I’m thrilled the quilter’s world is full of creative people! Take the Nine Patch block design for example, oh, my, goodness!

Creating a simple “Nine Patch” is pretty self-explanatory ~ take 9 squares of equal size fabric (say 4.5"), stitch three together, 3 more together, and another 3 together, then stitch the 3 rows to make the block - clear as mud, I know!

A simple 9 patch quilt can be stunning within itself! It's all about color and placement. I found these on Pinterest after searching "9-Patch":

Nine patch blocks also works beautifully with other blocks. For examples I went again to Pinterest!

(Have you noticed, I love Pinterest! It's the greatest thing since sliced bread!)

Nine patch blocks mixed with Half Square Triangles,
like we did yesterday!

Or, a same-size solid block will make the 9 patch block pop out nicely, like this one!

I took a "simple" nine patch with narrow sashing, and created a wall hanging for my niece... look closely, it's a completed Sudoku puzzle! I shared how I worked it out last year in this article.

But, how do we take a simple nine patch block and make them even more spectacular without all the tedious detailed work?

I made 3 of these nine patch blocks (each for the bottom/top of this quilt), keeping the color/print arrangement the same on each block I created.

I cut the blocks up like Jenny Doan from Missouri Star Quilt Company shows in her video, rearranged, then re-stitched, making the 9 patches “disappear”! I wrote about it in detail back in March, and shared Jenny’s amazing video!

While looking through Pinterest, I’m discovering the “disappearing 9-patch” is as versatile in arranging to make different “looks” as a log cabin block… it’s all in how you turn the “mini blocks” and stitch back together!

This is a lovely disappearing 9-patch quilt a friend of mine recently created!

Great job, Ellie!
I love the way she arranged the "mini blocks"
and added sashing!

In researching for this article, I stumbled upon cutting a nine patch diagonally (both ways) then re-stitching! Take a look at how Scraps of This and That blog explained with lots of pictures! I’ve not yet tried this, but it is high on my to-do list!

Just one more... she calls it the Double Trouble Disappearing Nine Patch! Clever lady!

Experiment. Play. Enjoy!